Invisible Children Roadies Visit USCHS

“Just seeing everyone watch the documentary was amazing.  I can honestly say that this was the first assembly that the entire theater was quiet. I have never seen everyone be quiet like that at one moment.”  ~Zach Tobias, 11th grade

Eight years ago, three college film majors traveled to Africa during their summer break looking for adventure and a story. What they found was a tragedy that enraged and inspired them: Children, afraid of being abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that had been terrorizing northern Uganda for nearly 20 years, commuting miles every evening from their villages to sleep in basements of hospitals and bus stations in the city, fearing for their lives.

When the three Americans retuned to Southern California, they put their experience into action, producing the film “Invisible Children:  The Rough Cut” from their footage and traveling around the country showing it to anyone who would watch.

Today, Invisible Children is a multi-million dollar a year nonprofit organization focused on using film, creativity, and social action to bring an end to the war in Uganda that is now in its 25th year. 

Last week, four Invisible Children volunteers, called Roadies, visited the high school to share their latest film, “Tony,” with the students. The Roadies left from San Diego and traveled by van throughout the country for four months, sharing their story with the communities they visit.

“I loved getting to know the Roadies. Being a Roadie is something I would really like to do someday, and I talked to each of them to find out how to get involved with the program. I think they were really trying to help us high school students know how severe the issue in Uganda is. Students who are lucky enough to live in Upper St. Clair sometimes take everything we have for granted and don’t look outside our lives to see how others around the world live," 11th grader Alexa Beil said.

This year, three American Roadies — Maggie, Austin and Andrew — are traveling with Ugandan Roadie Nancy, who has personally been affected by the war for her entire life. Nancy spoke to the high school students about her experiences growing up in a war-affected country, and her experiences inspired many.

“I thought that it was amazing to talk to the Ugandan girl who came over,” 11th grader Zach Tobias said. “She was telling me stories about her old night commutes and they almost brought me to tears. I don’t cry much…yeah, I’m tough…but that almost made me cry like a baby. The coolest part was that she took my hand and thanked me for helping out. At that moment I knew I needed to do more."

The Roadies offered screenings of the “Tony” film during every class period, and nearly 1,000 students at the high school were able to take part in the assembly, thanks to support from faculty and administration.

On that first, life-changing visit to Africa, Invisible Children founders met a young boy named Tony, who immediately won their hearts with his knowledge of rap music, his tendency to break into song and dance at a moment’s notice, and his dedication to his school and his family. In “The Rough Cut,” the filmmakers followed Tony and his friends as they night commuted to a hospital in Gulu where they had to mop out the wet basement floor with rags before laying down mats, doing their homework by candlelight and catching a few hours of sleep. They would wake in the morning and walk miles home to help with chores and attend school — only to do it all again the next evening.

The documentary “Tony” fills in the eight years since “The Rough Cut." Tony struggled with school but has since graduated, toured through America advocating for the youth of his country and is pursuing higher education. 

He’s suffered tragedy as well, as many Ugandans have.  His mother died four years ago of AIDS. Tony was also in the Kampala rugby stadium when it was attacked by a group of Somali terrorists last summer during the World Cup.  

Tony’s story is also the story of Nate Henn, an American and former Invisible Children Roadie who was visiting Uganda and Tony, who he had toured with in the states. Nate was one of 74 killed in the attack and his family shares Nate’s message in the film: find something you believe in, and do whatever you can to help.

The messages in “Tony” were not lost on USC students. They saw Nate give everything to a cause he believed in. They watched Tony overcome struggles and hardships. And they saw what a difference a single person — or in the case of Invisible Children, three — can make.

“Nate’s story really inspired me because it shows that if you truly want something, you can stick with it all the way.  We high school kids shouldn’t take things for granted…these children, the invisible children, are not able to grow up even remotely the way we did.  I think USC students did ‘get it’ — and we want to help,” 10th grader Jasma Mody said.

There is an active Invisible Children club at the high school, and in the two years since its start, the club has raised over $15,000 for Invisible Children and other causes in northern Uganda. Students have sold Acholi bead necklaces, collected used books and held the first annual “Night Commute” this past September. 

The visit from the Roadies re-energized the students; one member said, “I’m so excited to continue being active in the Invisible Children club.  I have a lot of great ideas and hope we can raise as much money as we can to help.”

Sophomore Liz MacLean put it best: “I think the most inspiring part of the Roadie visit was just their determination and their non-ceasing devotion to something bigger than themselves.”

A lesson well learned.